Haha OK, so here’s the convoluted story:
High school wasn’t particularly a breeze for me. I was a smart kid, but had a big chip on my shoulder when it came to authority mostly due to problems at home. I ended up failing sophomore year, and getting retained, then dropped out of school senior year in March because I was getting kicked out of my house by parents who interpreted “underachiever” to mean “hellraiser/ne’er-do-well.” (By this point I was 19 since I had started school a year late to begin with plus the extra year of 10th grade)
Suffice it to say, college of any sort was not an option for me at the time. I had to stay with friends until I could get on my feet and pay for housing for myself. I did the work thing for a while until I realized that I needed t get the ball rolling on that BA. I scored a diploma through a city agency which let me make up the courses I was missing through online classes (note: not a GED, a diploma)
Neither of my parents were willing to send me anywhere, so I did what one does and shot for the bottom rung of the ladder: community college. With no money to pay for classes (money from work had to go toward eating and rent), financial aid was my only way of paying for classes.
The FAFSA, however, as I’m sure some of you know, requires financial info on your parents until the age of 23, so I got a wicked high EFC compared to my personal income. The community college informed me that they had no sort of internal system for evaluating personal finances independent of intended parental contribution , and at that point I figured a loan was better than slaving away at a restaurant for another four years.
Started taking classes, and to put it bluntly I screwed up. I took on too much and couldn’t balance school with work, and work was what was keeping a roof over my head. Failed my classes. So now I owe about $3,000 which I’ll have to start paying back in the next couple months.
That in and of itself is fine, but now that I’m a bit older, wiser, and willing to hunker down and view college as my main job (nothing will cultivate a work ethic like a boss who wants something DONE right NOW), I don’t know if I’ll qualify for more money without paying off the first one.
I intend to apply to a state school for next spring’s semester.
-My GPA is probably around a 2.7
-SAT score is 2,000
-My two recommendations from my teachers (written two years ago at this point) are glowing with respect to my ability and desire to learn.
-I could also write a pretty great I’ve-overcome-adversity essay, and would probably be able to wow an interviewer.
I’m not too concerned with getting in, really, but I just don’t know if paying for it is realistic at all. Tuition and fees are around $7,000, nowhere in the neighborhood of something affordable and I really don’t know what else I can do. You need a degree to answer phones and do data entry as a 9 to 5 these days, and I’m just really frustrated that I’m precluded from any kind of meaningful work.
ANY kind of advice or knowledge would help greatly. The application deadline in in December, so I want to figure all of this out asap. Thank you.